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Friday, December 14, 2012

Interview and Giveaway with Xandra James

How did you come up with the title for your latest
book?

It was a natural progression as Sam the Gargoyle
(the hero in the book) used to be a security guy and gargoyles, in my world, are
super protective. From there it took me a while to hit on a title I like but I
usually make notes of potential titles as I think of them, so I just had to use
my brain a little, lol. Incidentally, the name of book 2 of the anthology is
The Protectors as it fits with our heroes so it really did just fit together
nicely.

Do you title the book first or wait until after it’s
complete?

I can't really concentrate until I have at least a
working title for the story I'm working on. I think it's one of those obsessive
writer things – either that or I'm not quite right ;) For instance, Protecting His Own actually
started out as 'Surprise, I'm A Gargoyle!' as I was first drafting it.
Thankfully the title worked itself out as I went along, otherwise I may have been
stuck with it.

Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?

Hmmm… I really just want readers to enjoy the story
of Sam and Nina. I guess if there was a message, it would be that life is
unexpected and the best laid plans are meant to be tweaked (or trampled over
with a bulldozer!)

What books/authors have influenced your life?

So, so many books have influenced my life. Sometimes
you'll just read a book and it hits you straight between the eyes as it's
exactly what you needed to read at that moment in time. Other books are the
perfect relaxer – your guilty pleasure that takes you away from life. If I had
to say one author (and it's tough) I'd say it was Kerrelyn Sparks and her Love
at Stake series. It introduced me to fun, paranormal romances and I haven't
looked back since in my reading or writing.

What book are you reading now?

I've literally just started a Liz Fielding Christmas
story called, Mistletoe and the Lost Stiletto. And I've just finished reading
Baby, It's Cold Outside by Rice, Hardy, Carson and Andrews and it was a lovely
xmas collection. As you probably guessed, I like to read festive stories over
Christmas. It gets me in a jolly mood ;)

What books are in your to read pile?

What isn't? lol. I have older stuff from Johanna
Lindsey and Catherine Coulter, right up to Tawna Fenske, Kerrelyn Sparks, Heidi
Rice, Nicola Marsh and Gena Showalter. There's a bit of everything in the boxes
of books I have stashed. And there's a whole lot of different stuff on my
kindle now, too. I love me a free book so I always download them if they spark
my fancy, but there's plenty I've bought that I just haven't had the time (so
far) to read, everything from contemporary to paranormal, mystery and a bit of
historical.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging
in your writing?

The first draft is the most difficult thing. To get
the story out in a logical order, without killing the structure of it, is a
painful process. I don't want to miss anything crucial out but I also know the
writing isn't up to scratch either but cannot let my inner editor, who's
perched on my shoulder shouting directions and hurling insults, get to me. Running
through and editing, on the other hand, is where I can relax. Even if it needs
a lot of re-writing, I know it can be fixed and that the story will come out in
a logical way since I now know roughly where I'm going.

Who designed the cover of your latest book?

Victoria Miller, a freelance cover artist who does
work for Breathless Press. And I think she did a phenomenal job. She's made all
three books in the series fit together nicely and, I must admit, it's probably
one of my favourites so far. It just makes you want to go and buy the
anthology, doesn't it? ;)

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write lots. And when you're not writing? Read lots.
There is no magic formula for us writers. We just have to work hard and treat
it as a job, and write the story, making it the best it can be.

Do you have a song or playlist (book soundtrack) that
you think represents this book?

I'm not usually a music person when I'm writing, but
these past few days my natural grumpiness has faded somewhat and I've turned on
the radio to listen to Christmas tunes. So although it doesn't pertain directly
to this book, the story kinda reminds me of the festive season because it was
this time last year that I was writing it!

When the Wicked Ladies of Fiction meet up in a Scottish bar they don’t expect a night filled with danger, lust and hot supernatural men…

Widowed Nina was just looking for a warm body for one night when she walked into The Blood Bar. But with a little help from a Siren song and a sexy bar-owner, the universe had other ideas.

Gargoyle Sam wants a forever type of girl after years of meaningless encounters and now, he thinks he’s found the one. He just has to convince her of that.

But the night is full of mysteries and not only does Sam need to confront an enemy from his past, he’s pulled into a complicated tug of love and war with a group of misfit Supes and Nina’s friends. Will Sam be strong enough to save them both or will they both lose what they’ve only just found?

About the Author:

Multi-published author, Xandra James, has always wanted to write romance books. Even when she was sneaking peaks at the hot bits, too young to fully appreciate them, she dreamt of writing her own.

Now, older and wiser, she's got the opportunity to project her slightly dark and wacky, British sense of humour onto others, whilst still writing the hot bits - bonus!

When not writing, Xandra is thinking of excuses as to why she shouldn't be doing the housework, looking after a husband and cats that refuse to pick up after themselves and climbing the mountain in her house that's affectionately called her tbr pile.

She currently holds the crown for Queen Procrastinator – something she's very proud of – so you can usually find her online, somewhere, when she really should be writing.